Handle pad



April 12, 1949'. J c, MacKEARNlN 2,466,719

HANDLE PAD I Filed Nov. 26, 1946 1 ATTORNEYS.

Patented Apr. 12 1949 'UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE v I James G. MacKea'rnin, Buffalo, N. Y.

Application November 26, 1946, Serial No. 712,463

This invention relates to pads for the handles of flat irons, tools, appliances, utensils and the like.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a pad of soft resilient material for the handle of a flat iron or similar handle which can be comfortably grasped by and is conformable to the hand of the user.

Another important object is to' provide such a comfortably graspable handle pad with a salient portion of substantial thicknesswhich may be located at any desired place on the circumference of the handle to which the pad is applied, this salient portion providing a thick cushion at the place Where the users hand is in most intimate contact with the handle. 7

Another object is to provide such ahandle pad which while varying in thickness can be wrapped around a handle in a single convolution to provide an even continuous and substantially cylindrical peripheral surface.

A further object is to provide such a handle pad which can be wrapped around the handle without causing the material of the pad to bunch or wrinkle.

Other objects are to provide such a handle pad which is extremely simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture and easy to apply.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a handle pad embodying the present invention and shown as applied to the handle of a flat iron.

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section thereof taken on line 2-2, Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 2 and showing the manner in which the pad is applied to the handle.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the handle pad in its straightened out condition before application to the handle.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional View thereof taken on line 5-5, Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a modified form of a handle pad and shown as applied to the handle of a fiat iron with the exterior surface of the handle pad flush with the adjacent portions of the handle of the flat iron.

The pad forming the subject of the present in vention is a one piece article and is shown as being rectangular in outline as viewed in Fig. 4. The body [0 of the pad is made of soft, resilient material such as sponge rubber and the like and is shown as having a flat bottom face I] and an upwardly rounded or convexly curved top face l2. One side of the convex top face 12 tapers toward 1 Claim. ((11.38-95) one edge of the bottom face H and terminates short of joining the bottom face to provide the vertical end face f3. On the side of the body It opposite the end face l3 the top face it is stepped or recessed downwardly toward the bottom face II to provide a shoulder l4 and a fiat face E5, the latter extending toward the bottom face it and joining the same in a feathered edge It. The fiat face 15 is of uniform width and extends across the full width of the body ill from one side H to the opposite side l8, as shown in Fig. 4.

The central portion of the bottom face ll of the body II] is corrugated or provided with a series of parallel spaced grooves l9 and ribs 20. The grooves l9and ribs extend across the full width of the body from the side I! to the side it and parallel to the edge [1, shoulder l4 and end face IS. The purpose of the corrugated bottom is to permit the pad to be smoothly applied to the exterior of a handle and to avoid the material of the pad from wrinkling or bunching.

Referring to Fig. 3, the pad is shown as being partially applied to the cylindrical handle 22 of the fiat iron shown in Fig. 1. To accomplish this the bottom face ll ,of the pad is provided with an adhesive material or cement (not shown), or

the adhesive material or cement is applied to the peripheral surface of the handle 22 which receives the pad. The end of the pad having the feathered edge 16 is first pressed to the bottom of the handle 22. Then, in a clockwise direction, the pad is wrapped around the handle 22 so that the inner side or bottom face ll of the pad is adhesively fastened to the periphery of the handle. In wrapping the pad around the handle 22 it will be noted that the grooves l9 change their cross sectional shape and become smaller, this being caused by the ribs 20 between adjacent grooves being more closely spaced to one another when the pad is wrapped around the handle. Without such grooves iii the material on the inner side of the pad would tend to wrinkle or bunch as the pad is wrapped around the handle. The pad is continued to be wrapped around the handle in a clockwise direction as shown in Fig. 3 until the fiat bottom portion at the extreme right of the pad overlaps the top face I5 provided on the opposite end of the pad with the end face l3 of the pad opposing the shoulder I4. Adhesive material or cement (not shown) holds the free end of the pad to the top face [5. In this manner the ends of the pad are joined together to provide a smooth exterior surface, as shown in Fig. 2.

By reference to Fig. 2, it will be noted that the pad in is applied to the handle 22 with its salient portion on top of the handle. When the pad is applied to the handle of a fiat iron it is generally desired to have the thickest cushion on the top of the handle for the hand of the user when pressure is applied downwardly on the iron. However, the pad can be arranged on the handle in any desired manner so that the salient portion of the pad is in the circumferential position desired by the user.

As shown at 23 in Fig. 1, the outer corners or edges formed by the top face l2 and the sides I! and [8 are preferably rounded.

In Fig. 6, there is shown a slightly modified form of pad which is adapted to be Wrapped around the core 25 of the handle structure of the fiat iron shown in this figure. It will be noted that the core 25 is offset downwardlywi'th respect to the adjacent parts of fore and aft supports 26, 21 respectively, for the ends of the core 25 so that whenthe pad .28 is appliedto the core 25 the exposed .surfaceor periphery 'of the pad 22 will be a continuation of the exteriorsurface of the adjacent parts of the supports 26, 21. The exposed outer edges of the pad 28 are rectangular so as to fit flush against the end faces 29 of thesupports 26, 21 and is otherwise similar to the pad I0.

While the pad forming the subject of the present invention is shown in conjunction with the handle of a fiat iron, it will be understood that the pad can be equally useful when applied to the handles of other devices to provide .a comfortable hand grip. lnconnection with the use of the pad on the handle of a flat -iron, the pad has the further advantage of acting as an insulator to prevent heat conducted through the handle of the fiat ironfrom being transmitted to the hand of the user.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the present invention provides a very simple, inexpensive, cushioned pad for handles of various devices which canbe readily applied to the (handies and which when applied provides a pad for the hand of .the user which is not bulky and which will not slip around the handle in use. Further, the handle pad is ,provided with a thick part which can be arranged at any point on the circumference of the handle to provide a greater cushion at the point desired by the user.

I claim as my invention:

A handle pad, comprising a sponge rubber body of generally rectangular form in outline and having two opposite parallel sides, the bottom face of said body being flat and provided with -a plurality of spaced and parallel grooves extending parallel to said sides, the top face of said body being convexly rounded and tapering toward said sides and terminating above said flat bottom face at one of said sides to provide a narrow fiat end face, a flat surface along the -'other of said sides on the top of said body and recessedfrom said top face to provide a shoulder extending parallel with said sides and having a height approximately equal to the width of said end face, said fiat surface being at an angle to said flat .bottom face and merging therewith to provide said other side with a feathered edge, said body being wrappable around a round handle with said flat bottom face adhesively fastened 'to the periphery of said handle and the marginal portion of said ,flat'b'ottom face along said end face overlying said jflat surface and adhesively fastened thereto with said 'endface opposing said shoulder whereby the handle pad envelopes the handle in a single convolution and the external periphery 'ofthe pad is continuous and generally eccentric with respect .to the periphery of the ha d JAMES .C. MA KEARNIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the .file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 206,527 Great Britain Oct. 29, 1923 

